Field Notes

Summer Appeal

From the Executive Director – Dan Riggs

“Every time I walk the paths and trails at Klehm, I feel truly fortunate to have such beauty and tranquility at my fingertips. I am also reminded of how lucky the Rockford area is to have a nationally accredited arboretum and botanic garden in its repertoire of attractions”. Read more.

After a recent trip to the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon and sitting in on a recent program on Rose Rosette virus, my mind is currently on roses. So, Roses it is for this week's Plant of the Week! The fragrance, the beauty, the vase life, they...

Not only do leaves make trees look beautiful, their importance in sustaining life on this planet cannot be understated. Their bright green appearance in the spring is an indication of the beginning of a new life cycle. In the summer leaves provide much needed shelter...

A good indicator of decay is the presence of fungal fruiting structures on the trunk, limbs, or roots. Fungal fruiting structures come in a variety of shapes such as bracket, hoof, shelf (collectively called conks) and mushrooms (toadstools). Textures can range from...

According to horticulture experts in Illinois, favorable spring and summer weather will lead to vibrant fall tree colors throughout the state. Some sugar and red maples have already started to change color at Klehm. The fall tree colors could last longer if the first...

Every autumn we revel in the beauty of the fall colors. The mixture of red, purple, orange and yellow is the result of chemical processes that take place in the tree as the seasons change from summer to winter. During the spring and summer the leaves have served as...

Gardeners can find a wide selection of spring bulbs for planting right now. The earlier the bulb goes into the ground the longer it will have to establish before cold soil temperatures arrive. Even if you end up planting spring bulbs with your parka on, the bulbs will...

Seed balls make sowing a lot easier! Seed balls are seeds wrapped in soil materials , then dried and planted later. Seed balls can be dropped anywhere suitable for the species during the germination period. First, sift clay to remove lumps and then measure out 5...

Advice for Zone 5 Gardeners If the ground has thawed, divide and replant perennials, such as asters, bee balm, and hostas. Plant roses and lily bulbs. When the ground is warm and dry, transplant early tomatoes outdoors, inside protective Wallo'Waters. Seed a second...

* Order perennial plants and bulbs now for cut flowers this summer. Particularly good choices are phlox, daisies, coreopsis, asters and lilies. * Check stored bulbs, tubers and corms. Discard any that are soft or diseased. * Don't remove mulch from perennials too...

Deadline Friday, March 21 Each year the Soil and Water Conservation District sells bare root trees, evergreen, shrub seedlings, and transplants in an effort to increase efforts to provide energy conservation and/or habitat cover for wildlife in the rural setting. ...

Start Planning January is the month to organize your garden thoughts and start ordering seeds for the coming year. In addition to the seed and nursery catalogs we all receive in the mail, check out seed company Web sites to help you begin garden planning. Many sites...

How the Program Works Each fall American Horticultural Society members send in seeds collected from their gardens to share with other members. AHS staff and volunteers compile a list of the submitted seeds along with information about how to grow and care for them....

Plan your garden with a vision for how trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses will look during the winter. Do your planting during the spring, summer, and fall months; then sit back and enjoy your landscape—from a window sipping hot chocolate—when the temperatures...

Year-end garden tips 1) Leaving perennials standing and not cutting them back may help to protect the crown. If you mulch, go ahead and cut them back. 2) Rake fallen leaves from grass. Leaves left on lawn over winter will smother and kill grass. 3) Plant spring -...

Klehm’s Plant A Row garden proved most fruitful this year, providing a record amount of vegetables for local food pantries. Klehm donated 2078 lbs. of fresh produce to the Rock River Valley Food Pantry, largely thanks to the hard work of volunteer Mary Jo Shickles....

Article Published by the National Garden Bureau Few gardeners are content with the length of their growing season. In the far North, there's barely enough time to ripen tomatoes or melons. In the South, drought and intense heat limit gardening activity to the spring...

Article by National Gardening Bureau, Inc. When the trees begin to show fall colors, your garden can too. Unless you live in a mild winter climate, you may not have thought about planting for a fall harvest that can continue even into the winter. Now is that time to...

Homeowners are urged to continue watering trees and shrubs due to continued dry soil conditions and a rain shortage. It is important to know that trees and shrubs will benefit from continued watering – even trees and shrubs that have lacked sufficient watering...

National Garden Bureau, Inc. www.ngb.org Busting Common Gardening Myths? As diligent as you might be about heeding all the gardening tips you’ve heard over the years, are there some that you simply question their value? You wonder if maybe grandma’s advice...

For centuries mankind has been fascinated by legends of fairies. While concrete evidence of the existence of fairies is, naturally, rather hard to come by, adding fairy gardens to our landscapes is one charming way we can participate in this centuries-old tradition....